WARRINGTON'S paramedics may be expected to be good at dealing with accidents, but now they have proved they are among the best at avoiding them.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service, which covers Warrington and has a station in the town, has received the prestigious Gold Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.

The trust, which employs around 1,100 people, was awarded the accolade after demonstrating continuous improvements in the reduction of accident rates in the workplace.

The benchmark for equivalent bodies is an accident rate (AIR) of 17,000 per annum. The trust's AIR was just 3,655 in 2000, compared to 8,803 in 1997.

Trust chief executive David Todhunter said: "To have seen the AIR more than halve over a four-year period is an excellent achievement and is a culmination of the efforts of all staff in all departments of the trust.

"There is a first-class structure of safety management systems in place, but that said, there is still room for improvement and we must all make sure that health and safety remains a priority for the trust."